Mudra to bag Reliance Infocomm account

Leading advertising agency Mudra Communications is likely to handle the Reliance Infocomm account.

After the settlement between the Ambani brothers, both Reliance Infocomm and Mudra Communications lie with Anil Ambani. He hold a 90 per cent stake in Mudra.

Sources close to company confirmed the development, stating: "Reliance Infocomm will rope in Mudra as Anil Ambani holds around 90 per cent stake in the agency. Moreover, Mudra was also instrumental in creating the 'Kar lo Dunya mutthi mein' campaign for Reliance Infocomm."

However, Kaushik Roy, head-marketing, Reliance Infocomm, said he was not aware of any such deal. "At present, creative works for Reliance Infocomm is done by two Mumbai based agencies and I really do not know if it would be handled by Mudra in the near future," he said.

Roy was executive director and chief creative officer, Mudra Communications, before joining Reliance Infocomm.

"Our team does media buying for Reliance Infocomm. I do not know if Mudra will do creative works for it," added Nikhil Dave, media director, Reliance Infocomm.

Madhukar Kamath, managing director and chief executive officer, Mudra Communications, could not be reached for his comments despite several attempts made by Business Standard.

Reliance Infocomm is set to expand majorly in the rural areas. It aims to have a subscriber base of over 20 million spread across 3000 towns by the end of 2005. the company has a presence in 1100 cities at present.

It is also expected to come up with an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of the next financial year.

Mudra's turnover is expected to exceed Rs 1000 crore by the end of the current financial year. The Mudra Group handles more than 125 clients nationwide with two creative agencies, eight full service offices and seven specialised business units.